


Burnt Memories (And The Ways They're Brought Back)

by sgtbuckaroobarnes



Series: Sterek Prompt Fills [1]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Angst, Derek Hale Feels, Derek is sad but Stiles is helpful, Fluff and Angst, Hale Family Feels, M/M, sterek
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-22
Updated: 2017-10-22
Packaged: 2019-01-21 12:27:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12457782
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sgtbuckaroobarnes/pseuds/sgtbuckaroobarnes
Summary: Prompt: Sheriff Stilinski shows Derek pictures of Stiles as a baby and child, and Derek realises that he doesn't have anyone to do the same to Stiles, or any pictures to show at all, due to the fire.





	Burnt Memories (And The Ways They're Brought Back)

Derek was sitting on the Stilinski’s couch, drinking his beer slowly as the Sheriff showed him baby pictures of Stiles. Stiles had gotten home from work and run up to take a quick shower before dinner. Derek wasn’t sure how these weekly dinners had started. But before he knew what was happening he ended up at their house one night a week for dinner and beers with the sheriff. He doesn’t know when it started to feel like home either. All he knows is that every time the sheriff opens the door with his warm smile and his usual “hey kid, come on in.”, Derek’s insides seem to calm.

The sheriff has tears in his eyes from laughing, and Derek’s ribs hurt. They’d been looking at a picture of Stiles when he was about four or five. They’d been at the beach. Stiles’ mother was chasing him, a distraught look on her face because Stiles had apparently wiggled out of his swim trunks and was now running across the sand naked. The picture was a little blurry, Derek figured the camera had been shaking because John had been laughing and trying to take a picture all at the same time. Derek took a deep breath and leaned back on the couch, his hand on his ribs. John relaxed next to him and wiped at his face.

“It took almost twenty minutes to catch him. He was a fast little shit.” John said, smiling up at the ceiling and shaking his head. Derek nodded and smiled at the ceiling too.

“I believe it. He’s still pretty fast. And he’s definitely still a little shit.” Derek said, glancing at John. John looked at him and then they were both laughing again. John cleared his throat after a moment and then turned the page in the photo album. He chuckled and shook his head.

The picture was clearly after Claudia had finally managed to catch him and get his shorts back on. They were both smiling brightly at the camera, Stiles wrapped in her arms, his legs dangling free and his hands held out as he waved at John. They looked so much alike, Stiles and his mother. Their smiles and bright eyes nearly identical. Derek smiled down at the picture, his hand reaching out without his permission, his finger gently touching the edge of the photograph. He loved seeing Stiles’ childhood. Loved seeing him look so happy and carefree. And he looked that way in almost all the pictures John had shown him. He’d been a happy child. And Derek was grateful for that.

Derek looked down at the photo and felt an ache in his chest. He’d been a happy child too. And there had been pictures. Derek’s mother had found a way to get pictures of the family without their eyes causing problems. Derek remembered the family always taking pictures. A house full of wolves and children was constantly producing photo opportunities. But all those pictures were gone now.

Derek had no pictures to look at to remember the perfect curve of his mother’s smile, or the way his father threw his head back when he laughed, his whole body involved. Or all this cousins and uncles and aunts that he could barely remember. His stomach twisted in a knot and he felt his eyes and throat start to burn. He heard Stiles come bounding down the stairs and cleared his throat.

“Hey dad we need to get more body wash do you have a list start- WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?!” Stiles said, starting calm and then running forward with a yell and yanking the photo album off his dad’s lap, slamming it closed and holding it to his chest tightly.

“You didn’t see anything. Nothing to see in there.” Stiles said, his voice high. Derek could hear his heart beating fast in his chest, and normally he’d laugh at him and give him a smug look and probably say something witty. But his chest was aching and his throat was still burning and all he could do was stand up and walk to the door.

“I- I have to go. We can do dinner another night. I’m sorry.” He said, almost whispered, as he walked past Stiles and out the door.

“Hey, no, Derek I was kidding!” Stiles called after him, and then, quieter.

“Don’t go.”

Derek grimaced and started running, his car completely forgotten in front of the Stilinski’s house. He ran and ran and ran. He ran until his lungs were burning and his face was covered in tears and his claws were digging into his palms. At some point he shifted, his bones popping and creaking and then his paws hit the dirt and he kept on running until he ended up where his house used to be. He slowed to a trot, and then a walk, and then he stopped and just stared. The trees around the empty lot glowing as he stared at them with his wolf eyes. He walked to the center of the empty land, his paws making no sound on the dirt that was now sprouting grass. He sat in the dirt, looked up at the sky, and howled.

~***~

Stiles had gone after him. Not on foot, because that would have been fucking ridiculous. He’d thrown himself into his jeep and he’d chased him. Not too close. He didn’t want Derek to panic, even though he was pretty sure that he already was. He followed him to the Hale property and parked his jeep on the side of the road. He turned the key and got out. Then he stood, leaning against the door, and he waited.

The howl that came out of the trees brought tears to Stiles’ eyes. It sounded so broken, and hollow. Several more howls floated through the trees, all of them sounding the same. Stiles listened to them for about twenty minutes, his chest aching, tears falling down his cheeks, before climbing back into his jeep and driving home. He wiped at his face before going inside.

“You find him?” his dad called from the living room. Stiles shuffled in slowly.

“Yeah. He’s in the woods. He went home.” Stiles said sadly. His dad looked at him, sadness in his eyes. Stiles sighed and hung his head. He eyes landed on the photo album on the table and the gears in his brain started turning. He lifted his head slowly.

“I know that look.” His dad said, getting up out of his chair and walking over to Stiles.

“Don’t stay up too late okay? You need rest too.” He said, patting Stiles shoulder and heading up the stairs.

“Yeah, yeah I know.” Stiles said, waving his hand at him and running up the stairs behind him. He closed his door, grabbed his laptop, threw himself onto his bed, and got to work.

~***~

It takes Derek three days to go back for his car. Because he’s a big baby, apparently. He walks up to the house slowly, he’d been hoping no one would be home. The Sheriffs car was gone but Stiles’ jeep was in the driveway. Derek shoved his hand into his pocket, looking for his keys. When his fingers wrapped around empty air he groaned. His keys were in the house. He gotten into the habit of tossing them on the table inside the door. Just like Stiles and John did every time they walked into the house. He looked up at the sky and took a deep breath. He looked from his car, to the house, and back to his car. He sighed and shook his head and then walked over to the passenger window. The voice in his head telling him he was just a little bit pathetic but that that was okay. The voice in his head had started to sound a lot like Stiles. Derek wasn’t sure he liked it or not.

“You’re really gonna break into your own care instead of coming to the door and asking for your keys?” Stiles voice asked. But it wasn’t in Derek’s head. It was coming from behind him. Derek lowered his hand from where he’d had it raised, about to break the passenger window. He turned around slowly to see Stiles, still in his pajamas, holding his keys up and shaking them a little, a small, tired, smile on his lips.

“Seemed like a good idea at the time.” Derek said, shrugging and walking toward the boy. Stiles wasn’t really a boy anymore. He’d turned twenty last month. But Derek, and the wolf inside him, were having a hard time registering that he was a grown man now. Stiles nodded as Derek stepped closer. Derek reached for his keys and Stiles pulled them back. Derek dropped his hand and sighed, his head hanging after a long moment of Stiles just _looking_ at him. That’s when his eyes landed on the book in Stiles’ other hand. He had it pressed against his side snuggly, like maybe he was trying to hide it a little. It was very obviously a photo album. Derek swallowed hard and moved his eyes back to Stiles face. He was smiling again, just a small one, just one side of his mouth tilted up. But Derek saw it.

“I uh- I made you something.” Stiles said, clearly having seen Derek staring wide eyed at the album in his hand. He stepped closer and then held the book out to Derek. He looked nervous. Derek hadn’t seen him looking nervous in a long time. At least, not when it was just the two of them. Derek could see the book shaking in his hand, and he could hear his keys jingling a little in his other hand. He was sure that if he reached out and touched Stiles, he would be trembling. Derek nodded and reached for the album, his own hands shaking too.

He swallowed hard again when he saw the word stitched on the front. “Family” was written in very neat script. He glanced up at Stiles, he nodded at Derek and wrapped his arms around himself. His lips twitching into that little half smile again and then dropping once more. Derek nodded back, it seemed like the polite thing to do. And then he took a deep breath and flipped the book open.

His eyes started burning almost immediately. On the first page was a family picture of the Hale’s, his mother, father, sisters, brothers, aunts and uncles, and his cousins too. Derek wasn’t sure where the picture was from, but everyone was in it. He sniffled and turned the page carefully. He grimaced, trying not to cry openly in front of Stiles, as he looked down at a picture of his parents, arms wrapped around each other, staring at each other with love in their eyes. The page across from it had a picture of Derek when he was younger, he was on Laura’s shoulders and they were running from their father, who was laughing and chasing them. Derek felt hot tears fall down his cheeks and turned the page.

A sob ripped its way out of his throat as he looked down at a picture of him and his sisters on Christmas, all of them sitting at the dinner table, all of them laughing. Cora had mashed potatoes smeared across her face. Derek remembered that dinner, and that very moment with perfect clarity. They’d been talking about Santa. Cora had stopped believing in Santa pretty early for a child. Laura was trying to convince her otherwise and Cora had gotten bored of the conversation quickly. She’s grabbed a handful of mashed potatoes off her plate and looked at Laura and she’d said,

“Ya know what? You’re right. Santa does exist.” And she’d smeared the potatoes all over her face, attempting to make it look like a beard.

“I’m Santa.” She’d said, deadpan as you please. They’d all sat in silence for a moment and then they’d all started laughing. They’d laughed until they cried, tears running down their faces. Derek didn’t remember his mother or father walking in and taking a picture of them, but clearly they had. He laughed through his tears and turned to the next page, and then next and the next, page after page of pictures of Derek and his family. Not all of them were the best quality, some were in black and white, some of them were extremely blurry, but Derek knew exactly who they all were. He turned the next page and found it blank. He sniffed and looked up at Stiles.

Stiles was crying too, silently, his face wet with tears.

“How did you…?” Derek asked, not finishing his question, not even knowing what to ask. Stiles shrugged.

“I did some digging. After I followed you the other night I came home and kind of had an epiphany about what made you leave. About why you were so upset.” He shrugged again.

“So, I did what I do best. I found more than I thought I would. Apparently Beacon Hills used to have a monthly newsletter, and you’re family were pretty big players in the community, so you guys were in it almost every month. Not all of them had pictures, but a lot of them did.” He said, his arms tightening around himself more, Derek could see his fingers digging into his ribs.

“Some of them aren’t… great quality. But, I wanted you to have as many as you could. As many as I could find. Ya know? You deserve that. To have those memories.” Stiles said, nodding toward the book in Derek’s hands.

“And it’s not just that.” He said, and stepped forward until his hands were on the book too. Derek’s keys jingling as they dangled from Stiles finger. He turned to the next page and Derek’s breath caught in his throat. There was picture of him with Stiles and John. A picture from the barbeque they’d had last summer. John had his arms over Derek and Stiles shoulders, Derek was laughing, most likely at something Stiles had said, and Stiles was looking at Derek. Really looking at him. Derek’s stomach did something weird and he looked back up at Stiles.

“You deserve new memories too. Good ones… With us.” Stiles said, his voice quiet. He said it like it was an offer. Like he was giving Derek a chance to say no, that he didn’t want to make memories with them. Derek looked back down at the picture. He looked at the way Stiles was looking at him. And then he looked back to Stiles again. His cheeks were red and his lip was pulled between his teeth.

“I’d like that.” Derek said, smiling and closing the book carefully. The smile that spread across Stiles’ face was blinding, like the one Derek had seen in so many of the pictures John had shown him. Derek’s own smile grew at the sight of it.

They stood there for a long time, both of them smiling at each other. Stiles broke the stare, he took a step back, rubbing at the back of his neck and holding Derek’s keys out to him.

“Here. These are…yours.” He said lamely. Derek took a few steps forward, closing the gap that Stiles had opened. He reached out for his keys, his fingers closing around them, and Stiles fingers too. The red in Stiles’ cheeks deepened as Derek stared at him.

“Yes, they are.” Derek said, barely above a whisper. Stiles nodded and swallowed loudly, his tongue darted out, licking his lips nervously. Derek’s eyes followed the movement.

“Yeah.” Stiles breathed, his eyes moving back and forth between Derek’s eyes and mouth like they can’t decide where to stay.

“You wanna be too?” Derek asked, he was whispering now. Stiles stared at him for a long time and then blinked slowly.

“Wait…what?” he asked, his eyes glued to Derek’s now.

“Do you want to be-“

“No no I heard you I just-“

“Was processing.”

“Yeah. Yeah that’s what I was doing.” Stiles said, nodding quickly. Derek smiled at him. Stiles smiled back.

“Soo?” Derek asked, widening his eyes a little.

“Wha- oh! Yeah. Yes! Yes I would very much like that. Like, you have no idea just how much I would like that. It’s like, a fucking dream come true for that…to happen. So yeah, yes. Yes please.” Stiles rambled as Derek pressed closer.

“I have a little bit of an idea.” Derek breathed against Stiles lips and then pressed forward. Stiles melted against him, his hands grabbing at Derek’s arms and pulling him impossibly closer. The kiss was soft, and sweet, and it was both not what he was expecting a kiss from Stiles to be like, but also so perfectly Stiles that he couldn’t get enough.

Stiles pulled back and looked at him, his eyes shining.

“I made that book for you because I- because I love you.” Stiles said, stammering once and then getting his courage. Derek bit his lip and nodded.

“Yeah. I got that.” He said, leaning forward and kissing Stiles on the nose.

“I love you too.” Derek said, feeling that warmth spread though his chest when that bright-eyed smile spread across Stiles face again. Stiles pressed forward and kissed him again, his teeth bumping into Derek’s when neither of them could stop smiling. Stiles took Derek by the hand and pulled him toward the house. Derek followed easily, tossing his keys on the table inside the door as he walked in, feeling at home in the Stilinski house, just like always.

**Author's Note:**

> i hope this doesn't make any of you cry! but also...i kinda do cuz it made me cry so like, cry with me. Just let it happen. I hope you guys like it! Thanks for reading, as always! <3


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